Montefeltro - Il Pesco Rosso

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Mellow Records
Catalog Number: MMP 413
Format: CD
Total Time: 56:30:00

It had been since the band's album Il Tempo Di Far La Fantasia from 1993 that I heard from these guys. On this new album, this Italian outfit starts out with the kind of music that one would associate with none other than Angelo Branduardi. As noted so many times in history, this is absolutely top notch Italian prog, a feature that might be rather difficult to explain in detail, but which is nonetheless very recognizable. Call it the inclusion of a Mediterranean feel and you get close to the idea. Personally I think it has something to do with the injection of acoustic instruments. Only Attilio Virgilio remains, yet this time the nucleus of the band has grown into a trio, which makes the music more consistent. The band's music remains a mixture of classical elements and playful neo-progressive sidesteps delivering names such as PFM, Le Orme, Galadriel and Eris Pluvia along the way. The soft vocals lean heavily towards authentic folk and also the rich use of acoustic instruments underline this feel. "Omait" continues in a very predictable fashion whilst it remains a modal song. In "Alma Crianca" suddenly a medieval kind of intermezzo injects a classical atmosphere, which is the right sort of thing one would expect Montefeltro to do. Throughout the fragile vocals a jazzy saxophone is steered through "Sentilcuore," making it sound quite different when compared to the rather tame rhythm. Tracks 5, 6 and 7 together are called "Racconto Di Maggio" in which the lovely bass playing comes to the fore, surrounded by a Southern feel. Especially the acoustic guitars flanked by female synthetic choirs sound nice. Thank god that synthetic approach is left behind during "Altomare" when a real choir steps in. The final track "Festadicorte" no doubt has to be the best song on this album, sporting a nice interaction between female vocals and rhythm, between acoustic and electric guitars, in short the perfect balance in order to deliver an outstanding track. Sadly that one highlight isn't enough to turn Il Pesco Rosso into a sublime album. As it is, this new Montefeltro work shines in a similar way like the sun touches the water surface bearing in mind that not every day brings sunshine!

Tracklisting:
Forse Sono I Melograni (1:53) / Omait (In Questa Mia Terra) (8:46) / Alma Crian?a (9:01) / Sentilcuore (7:33) / Racconto Di Maggio: Dell'umano Sognare (3:27) - Dell'abbandono Involontario (8:59) - Del Perdono Per Incomprensione (3:37) / Altomare (7:51) / Festadicorte (5:19)

Musicians:
Atillio Virgilio - vocals, classical guitar, 12-string guitar, electrical guitar, synthesizers, loops
Giuseppe Ruggiero ? drums
Filippo Manni - 4 and 5 string bass, fretless bass, acoustic bass

Discography:
Il Tempo Di Far La Fantasia (1993)
Il Pesco Rosso (2001)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: August 8th 2004
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

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Language: english